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WORLD MEDIA

( On 11/28/2007 Olivia Chow asked the Canadian House of Commons to vote for a motion demanding an appology from Japan to the over 200,000 women from China, Korea, Philippines and other countries who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II. The motion was passed unanimously. )

”TOKYO, March 16 — The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeated today that there was no evidence that the Japanese military had forcibly recruited women into sex slavery during World War II.

In a written statement endorsed by the Cabinet, the government referred to a study from the early 1990’s and said that “among the materials it discovered, it did not come across any that directly show that the military or authorities so-called forcibly led away” the women, known euphemistically as comfort women.

The statement was in response to an opposition lawmaker, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, who had asked Mr. Abe to explain earlier remarks in which he denied that the military had coerced the women into working as prostitutes for Japanese soldiers throughout Asia.

The remarks caused a furor throughout Asia, as well as in the United States, where the House of Representatives is now considering a non-binding resolution that would call on Japan to acknowledge and apologize unequivocally for its wartime sex slavery.

The government stated that it would adhere to a 1993 declaration that acknowledged and apologized for Japan’s brutal mistreatment of the comfort women. But Mr. Abe — who has been under pressure from the right wing of his Liberal Democratic Party to reject the 1993 declaration’s admission of state responsibility — said last week that the women had been coerced by private brokers.“

【The New York Times】

“Beijing- China said on Friday that Japan should offer an appropriate resolution to the plight of eight Chinese victims forced into serving as "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Forcing women to be sex slaves or "comfort women" was a crime Japanese committed against several countries they invaded during the war - including China.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang called the women's treatment at the hands of Japanese forces a serious, historical crime against humanity. "The victims are still hurting today, so Japan should take responsibility and provide these women with a justifiable explanation as soon as possible."`

Eight Chinese women from Hainan province filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government in 2001 and submitted it to a Tokyo court on the grounds they were forced to be "comfort women" for soldiers when the army invaded the southernmost province of China. United, the former sex slaves demanded a public apology be aired in the media in both countries and also requested 23 million Japanese yen ($255,556) in compensation for each victim. The women were between 14 and 17 years old when they were forced into serving as comfort women.”

【CHINADAILY】

”Over time, even dripping water can make a hole in a rock.

This seems to be a fitting analogy for what a group of Korean women in their 70s and 80s ― who were forced to work at imperial Japanese army brothels during the Second World War ― have been doing for the past 899 Wednesdays.

So far, the rock, in this case Japan, hasn't shown any signs of being worn down. But neither have the women, who have been steadfast in their fight.

The women ― who are dwindling in number ― will stage their 900th "Wednesday Protest" in front of the Japanese Embassy in downtown Seoul.

This time, some Japanese civic groups are planning to lend their hands to the cause of pressuring Tokyo to apologize and compensate for the barbaric acts of its past regimes.

Ahn Son-mi, coordinator of the Wednesday protests, was quoted by Yonhap News as saying, "Japanese civic groups in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka will conduct a signature collection drive as our 900th Wednesday Protest is held in Seoul." Ahn said that civic groups both in Korea and Japan will be mobilized to draw attention to the failure of the Japanese government to address the atrocities perpetrated during its colonial occupation.

The first Wednesday protest was held on Jan. 8, 1992, when the victims, who were commandeered as part of the imperial Japan's war effort and forced to work as sex slaves for frontline soldiers, emerged after years of living in social stigma. They demanded that Japan issue an official apology and teach Japanese students about the harsh history of the colonial era.“